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Massive piece to the Illinois basketball puzzle avoids the transfer portal

It was a great Friday afternoon, as the Illinois basketball team is officially getting nearly the entire band back together.
ByRees Woodcock|
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Illinois Fighting Illini guard Kylan Boswell (4) and forward Jake Davis (15) defend guard Andrej Stojakovic (2) as he shoots the ball during practice ahead of a Final Four game on Friday, April 3, 2026, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Illinois Fighting Illini guard Kylan Boswell (4) and forward Jake Davis (15) defend guard Andrej Stojakovic (2) as he shoots the ball during practice ahead of a Final Four game on Friday, April 3, 2026, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. | Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Illinois basketball has been wheeling and dealing this offseason, and a big piece has made a decision.

Brad Underwood has done a great job pulling in a few key pieces to help fill the voids left by departing players. But the best job the Illini head coach has done is retaining the pieces left over from the Final Four run.

Numerous players have already committed to coming back to Illinois for one more year, but on Friday afternoon, the last piece finally dropped.

According to Joe Tipton of On3.com, Andrej Stojakovic has decided to return to Illinois for one more season.

Illinois is getting back a monster of a player. Sure, fans had to realize that he wasn’t his father, Peja, early on, but we are okay with that. The younger Stojakovic is a much more physically gifted athlete who has carved a niche in the Illinois offense.

Last season, Stojakovic averaged 13.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game for the Orange and Blue. He was a driver of the basketball, and his defense improved immensely toward the end of his junior year.

Illinois basketball just retained a huge starting piece with Andrej Stojakovic avoiding the transfer portal

Stojakovic coming back isn’t just a solid piece for the Illini. I believe he will be a starter next season.

Through much of the 2025-26 campaign, Stojakovic was a starter for Illinois. He lost his job when he got hurt, and Illinois started to play well with Jake Davis in that role.

Stojakovic still saw starter minutes. He hit at least 20 minutes in each NCAA tournament game, which included seeing at least 26 minutes in the final four games.

This is huge news for the Illini. Getting Stojakovic back will make this program a top-five team in the country to start next season. What a great offseason for Underwood.

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